MG has Australia’s cheapest electric car with the ZS EV. Now, it’s revealed its bigger wagon brother for Europe.
The Chinese automaker has revealed its latest battery-powered family car, the 2021 MG 5 Electric wagon, but it’s unlikely to come Down Under.
Although it’s not been ruled out entirely, local buyers are abandoning passenger cars in droves. Factor in our market’s sluggish electric sales, and it’s a long shot to make the journey.
The MG 5 is a rebadged version of the Ei5 wagon from fellow SAIC Motor brand Roewe and adopts the MG name for Europe and the UK.
Only recently introduced to those markets, the previously quite dowdy MG 5 has received an aggressive update that brings it in line aesthetically with the MG Marvel R.
It features a single, front-mounted electric motor producing 135kW of power and 280Nm of torque, and has a 0-100km/h time of 8.3 seconds.
Total electric range is approximately 400km on the WLTP test cycle, while the 5 comes with an 11kW AC charger and also supports DC fast-charging.
The lithium-ion battery is located between the front and rear axles so this wagon boasts a pretty handy 578L of luggage space, expanding to 1456L with the rear seats folded.
The MG 5 measures 4544mm long, 1811mm wide and 1513mm tall with a 2665mm wheelbase, or 114mm shorter and 14mm narrower than a Ford Focus wagon.
As is becoming expected for a modern MG product, the MG 5 also includes the MG Pilot suite of driver assist and active safety features.
The MG 5 is not to be confused with the other MG 5, a different, internal combustion engine-powered model sold in Asia.
MG Motor Australia marketing and product director Danny Lenartic told CarExpert late last year the company is “keenly evaluating” the Asian-market MG 5, but it needs to still be approved by head office.
“We’re considering it, and we’re considering it from Thailand where it would be the first Thai-sourced MG sold in Australia,” he said.
It’s available exclusively as a four-door sedan unlike its predecessor, which was available as a hatch. The larger MG 6, in contrast, is offered exclusively as a five-door liftback.
The MG 5 offers a choice of two engines. The base engine is a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder producing 88kW of power and 150Nm, mated to either a five-speed manual or continuously-variable transmission (CVT).
Upscale MG 5 models use a turbocharged 1.5-litre four producing 127kW of power and 275Nm of torque. It’s mated exclusively to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The MG 5 tips the scales at between 1205kg and 1318kg, and measures 4675mm long, 1842mm wide and 1473mm tall with a 2680mm wheelbase.
That’s 15mm longer, 47mm wider and 33mm taller overall than a Mazda 3 sedan, which weighs between 1316 and 1439kg.
